Bible Study
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. ~Deuteronomy 6:4-9
We are strongly encouraged to study the Word of God so deeply that the message of the Lord becomes fixed as a sign of whose we are on our very bodies, minds, and spirits. This is commanded so that through faithful study we may…
- come to know God better
- and through knowing God come to love God
- and through loving God come to be transformed more clearly into the image of God
- and through being transformed come to better love and serve God’s world
There is a bible study or book study happening each week. Check our calendar to see what is happening this week.
Prayer Group
The prayers of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
~James 5:15-16
The prayer group leads the congregation in lifting one another and the world up in prayer to God. In the midst of pain, illness, grief, and despair, praying for one another connects all of us with God and with each other. The loving presence of God and community has the power to bring healing of the body, mind, and spirit to individuals, relationships, and communities. We do not pray because we believe we can magically keep bad things from ever happening, but rather we pray to strengthen the connection between ourselves, the world, and the God who stays with us and strengthens us through the greatest joys and sorrows of life.
All are invited and encouraged to take home the weekly prayer list in the bulletin and include our list of people in your prayers. Those interested in attending the prayer group, please join us on Wednesday at 10am or contact the church office.
Quilters
OPLC Quilters meet weekly to cut, sew, tie quilts, fellowship, and care for one another. These quilts are raffled to raise money for supplies and to support WELCA’s outreach efforts, given to families in need, and presented to our high school graduates. The majority of the quilts made are shipped to Lutheran World Relief to bring warmth, comfort, love and prayers to people in need throughout the world. In addition to being a cozy, clean new bed cover, these quilts often serve as:
- a baby carrier, tied around a mother’s back
- a market display, spread on the ground and piled with vegetables
- a sack for transporting those goods to market
- a sunshade
- a shawl
- most importantly, a constant reminder that someone, far away, cares a lot
OPLC Quilters send around 100 quilts a year that are joined with quilts from other Lutheran Churches to allow LWR to send over 400,000 all over the world annually.
All are welcome (women and men alike) to participate in this ministry of quilting. Please join us on Thursdays from 9am-12pm or contact the church office or Carol Payton.
Prayer Shawl Group
The OPLC Prayer Shawl Group meets weekly to knit and crochet shawls and arm warmers to be given to people experiencing illness, grief, or cold arms due to diabetes. These items are knit with prayers for the people who will receive them and then they are blessed in the midst of the OPLC faith community during Sunday worship. In addition to providing warmth, they extend the love of God and this faith community to a person who is in need of comfort, strength, and hope during a difficult time.
All are welcome (women and men alike) to participate in this prayer shawl ministry. This group meets on Thursdays from 9am to 12pm or contact the church office.